Dutch Senate approves scrapping temporary rental contracts for homes

The Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate, passed an initiative bill by PvdA and ChristenUnie to ban temporary rental contracts for homes, with several exceptions. The bill makes permanent rental contracts for an indefinite period the norm again, giving tenants more certainty and protection.

Temporary rental contracts for two years were introduced in 2015 in an attempt to create more housing by allowing landlords to rent out homes for shorter periods to target groups like students or migrant workers. Instead, they resulted in higher rents and less security for tenants, as landlords could evict tenants after two years and then rent out the home at a higher price, according to parliamentarians behind the bill - Henk Nijboer (Groenlinks-PvdA) and Pieter Griwnis (ChristenUnie).

The bill easily passed through the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of the Dutch parliament, with 112 of the 150 votes. It was expected to also sail through the Eerste Kamer until the BBB suddenly changed to the landlords’ side and withdrew its support. The farmers’ party is the largest in the Eerste Kamer, with 16 seats. According to the BBB, landlords should be able to decide for themselves how long they want to rent out their homes.

That left the CDA with the swing vote. The Christian Democrats also had doubts but supported banning temporary contracts in the vote on Tuesday, NOS reports. That happened after the entire Senate supported a CDA motion to expand the possibilities for “hosts” renting rooms out - a form of accommodation that used to be common for students and which university cities are increasingly depending on with the student housing shortage.

With the CDA’s support, the bill passed, with 44 of the 75 senators voting in favor. BBB, VVD, JA21, and FvD voted against.